The Frontiers of Mythmaking. Richard Adams's Early Fiction

In this study, Francisco Collado analyses Richard Adams's first four novels. After an introductory chapter in which he discusses aspects such as the figure of the author, his life and works, his ideology and techniques, his use of myth, his conception of story-telling, or the main influences on his work, Collado devotes a chapter to the study of each of the novels. All in all, the author tries to solve the apparent contradiction between Adams's theoretical statement that story-telling is what is most important for him in a novel and his claim that story-tellers should satisfy the deeper spiritual as well as psychological needs of their audience. At the same time, he tries to answer relevant questions such as: what effect do credibility and entertainment have on myth? Would they help us reach a definition of Richard Adams's style? Do the author's theories of writing match up with what his books exhibit?